Claimants say government used data to track and target activists in the wake of 2021 coup.A group of civil society organisations in Myanmar plans to take legal action against Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor, accusing it of passing customer data to the country’s military government for use in repression.The activists sent Telenor a notice of intent to sue on Monday, according to a statement from the Netherlands-based nonprofit Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), which is backing the case. The case states that the data shared by the telecoms giant was used by the military following its 2021 coup to trace and target civilians.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe claimants allege that Telenor, majority-owned by the Norwegian government, disclosed data from millions of customers to the military authorities, which, after toppling the country’s elected government, embarked on a campaign of violence and repression.They say the information helped the military target anti-coup activists, several of whom were tortured in detention and one of whom was executed.Telenor, which has previously faced investigations over its actions from Norwegian authorities, asserts it was trapped by the situation in Myanmar with “no good options”.One claimant, Thazin Nyunt Aung, said she is “terribly disturbed and shocked” by the data disclosures, which occurred weeks before her husband, lawmaker Phoe Zeya Thaw, was arrested and executed.Ko Ye, another claimant, said she feels “betrayed” by a company that had a reputation for integrity.“We were in danger, in struggle, in a very difficult position. But Telenor did not protect us. …
